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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23698708">rises the moon</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/amybri2002/pseuds/amybri2002'>amybri2002</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Sanders Sides (Web Series)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Anxiety | Virgil Sanders-centric, Fantasy AU, M/M, Magic AU, Running away from home, Songfic Challenge, bad family relations (past), will also update ships as needed. not sure on everything yet, will update with trigger warnings as needed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 18:28:38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>14,470</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23698708</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/amybri2002/pseuds/amybri2002</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After running away from home, Virgil find the Forest, where he is appointed as the new Lord of Spring. </p><p>Based on the song 'rises the moon' by Liana Flores.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Anxiety | Virgil Sanders &amp; Morality | Patton Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders/Logic | Logan Sanders</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>65</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>78</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. days seem sometimes as if they'll never end</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hello! Thanks for clicking on this fic! <br/>This was written for the songfic challenge hosted by @sanderssidesfanfiction on Tumblr, based on the song 'rises the moon' by Liana Flores. Please check out the song, it's so good, Liana deserves more love honestly. <br/>Anyway uhhh I'm gonna try to update this every Friday, so far I've written the first five chapters soooo we're good for at least a month. But either way I'm very excited about this :D <br/>Hope y'all enjoy~</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Virgil readjusted his backpack and walked down the road, the sun rising over the buildings. He was leaving and he <em> wasn't </em> coming back. He had packed his things and climbed out the window, not bothering to leave a note - he doubted the people back there would even care. He doubted that they'd even <em> notice </em> he was gone.</p><p>He turned the corner and continued to stalk the empty streets. It was too early for anyone to be up - too early for him to be up, really. The cold hair hit his cheeks, a hard wind attempting to blow him to the floor. He pulled up his hood and held it in place, fighting against the wind. </p><p>God, it had been five minutes and Virgil already wanted to go home. He wanted to get back into bed, where he was safe and warm, where he could sleep his worries away. But that just meant his worries would return in the morning. No, the best thing to do was go. He knew he couldn't run away from his problems, but at the very least running away would give him a chance to think. A chance to work through his problems. </p><p>His stomach growled. How long had it been? Fifteen minutes? An hour? He wasn't sure. He was still in the city, he thought, but he didn't recognise this place. He hadn't really been paying attention to where his feet were carrying him, as long as he was <em> away </em> from <em> there </em>. People were starting to emerge from buildings, go about their days, so he must have been out for a short while now. </p><p>He had to eat soon, though. He hadn't had any breakfast before leaving - which was normal for him, he supposed, but he also didn't usually walk this much. He glanced around the street, looking for anywhere where he may be able to buy supplies. </p><p>Christ, he hadn't even brought any proper supplies with him. He had packed a couple changes of clothes, a wash kit, and a couple personal possessions, but hadn't once considered to bring food with him. He hadn't even thought of a plan - he knew he wanted to run away, get out of town, but had no plan for where he was going to go, where he was going to stay. It wasn't as if he had any friends he could crash with, or enough money to buy a place of his own. </p><p>He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, checking inside. A couple twenty pound notes and a handful of change. Not exactly enough to book out a hotel room, or even catch a train out of here. But at least he had enough to buy a few supplies. </p><p>There was a corner shop at the end of the street. Great. They'd have food, right? He ran over, entering the store and looking around the aisles, trying not to alarm the cashier. He grabbed a few bags of crisps, some cereal bars, and a few bottles of Coke, taking them to the till. </p><p>"That'll be ten pounds," the cashier said. </p><p>Virgil glanced down into his wallet and took out ten pounds in change, a mixture of two pound coins, pound coins, and fifty pence pieces. The cashier looked somewhat annoyed at that, but nevertheless took the change and let Virgil go. He stuffed the food into his backpack, leaving out a cereal bar to eat as he walked. </p><p>And walked. And walked. </p><p>This was getting boring now. It would've helped if he had some music, or something, but he'd left his phone at home, for fear that <em> they </em> may try to call him. He wasn't about to let that happen. Still, he did wish he at least had an MP3 player, or something. They went out of fashion years ago. </p><p>The sun was high in the sky now. Not high enough. It couldn't have even been midday yet. How far away was he from home? It must have been a good few hours by now. He could walk a good few miles in the span of an hour, but this city seemed to go on forever. </p><p>He had to figure out where he was planning on going. It wouldn't be wise to just wander the streets, in the plain view. He had to <em> at least </em> get out of the city. Maybe there'd be a bus or something he could catch. Yeah. Where was the bus station again? </p><p>After a few more minutes of walking, he noticed a bus stop down the end of the street. Okay, that was good. He could catch a bus there, hopefully get back to the station, and then plan his next move from there. He walked up and stood at the bus stop, glancing around anxiously. </p><p>An elderly woman glanced up at Virgil, looking a little concerned. "Are you alright, dearie?" </p><p>Virgil shot her a smile. "Yup. I'm good." </p><p>"Shouldn't you be in school?" she asked. </p><p>"Nope. I'm, uh, homeschooled," he lied. </p><p>She frowned. "Well then, you should be at home, shouldn't you?" </p><p>Virgil internally groaned. It wasn't up to this woman to run his life. </p><p>"What bus are you waiting for?" she asked, after realising that Virgil wasn't going to reply. </p><p>Virgil blinked. "Uh, the... thirty-seven," he made up, hoping that she would just back off. </p><p>She hummed. "I think you've got the wrong bus stop. The thirty-seven doesn't stop here." </p><p>Virgil tapped his leg on the ground. "Actually, I think you're right. Sorry. I'll be off." He walked away, mostly because he couldn't be dealing with any strangers talking to him. </p><p>Maybe catching a bus wouldn't have been such a good idea, anyway. He had no way of knowing where he would end up - knowing his luck, he'd end up back at home, which was the last thing he wanted. So, he elected to continue wandering the streets, searching for a way out the city. </p><p>He glanced down one street, noticing a field at the end. Interesting. That meant he must be nearing the end of the city. He turned the corner and walked down the street, hopping over the fence and onto the field. Maybe if he could walk to the end of this field, he could find his way to the next city over. Maybe to a small village he could crash at for a couple days. It was a better plan than anything else he could come up with. </p><p>He imagined that he was trespassing by walking across the field, but at this point didn't care. He just needed to get out. </p><p>But he was getting tired. His legs were beginning to ache, and his back was beginning to hurt. Maybe a short break wouldn't do him any harm... </p><p>He collapsed onto the ground, taking off his backpack and setting it in front of him. He took out a bottle and began to drink, emptying the bottle in a matter of seconds. Wow. He must have been thirsty. He opened up a packet of crisps as well and began to eat, feeling somewhat satisfied once he was done. </p><p>Virgil laid down in the tall grass, letting it consume him. It must have been mid-afternoon by now, the sun casting an orange spell over the field. He breathed in and out as he stared up at the clear skies, half tempted to close his eyes... </p><p>When his eyes opened again, the sun had set, and the stars shone bright against the night sky. Christ, how long had he been sleeping for? He hadn't even noticed that he <em> had </em> fallen asleep. </p><p>He had to get back on the move, even if it was too dark to really see anything. He zipped his backpack back up and stood up, continuing his journey across the field. As he walked, fireflies emerged from the grass, creating a trail of light behind him. He smiled a little, allowing himself to get caught up in the beauty of it all. </p><p>Glancing back, he noticed that the city behind him was long gone, not even a trace in his vision. Looking forward, he couldn't find any signs of further civilisation either. Still, he walked. He wasn't even tired anymore, despite the fact that he must have been walking for the rest of the night, as the sun began to rise again. </p><p>Eventually, he came across a forest, a line of trees towering above him. He stopped, glancing inside. Leaves swirled around his feet, the wind pulling him closer. He tried to resist at first, but soon found himself standing in the forest, the leaves only picking up the pace. </p><p>He looked down, noticing something else swirling around his feet as well - tiny lights, multicoloured dots, or something... something flying, dancing around in circles. Probably bugs, some sort of weird mutated firefly, or maybe... </p><p>Nah, it wouldn't be a fairy, would it? </p><p>...would it? </p><p>This place was weird. Virgil wanted to leave, but his feet would not budge. </p><p>Someone stepped out the shadows. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. sun digs its heels to taunt you</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Virgil froze, staring at the... animal? Person? Staring at the thing crawling out of the shadows. No, not crawling, walking. Like a human. But... it - <em> he </em> can't have been a human. </p><p>He had horns, for a start. Two brown horns curling out of his head, his wavy hair sliding between them and falling over his... glowing red eyes. And he seemed to be surrounded by an... aura, an aura of something. A sparkling white light, covering his red dress like a sort of cape, or gown, or robe. And he was staring at Virgil, as if he was waiting for the right moment to strike. </p><p>Virgil stepped back, cringing as he heard a quiet snap after stepping on a twig. But the person, thing, whatever he was just stepped closer to him. He tried to steady his breathing. </p><p>"Who are you?" he asked, coming right up besides Virgil. </p><p>Virgil gulped. "Um, my name's Virgil," he said, meekly. </p><p>He frowned. "How did you get in the forest?" </p><p>Virgil blinked. "I, um, I just sorta... walked in, I guess?" </p><p>"Humans don't just <em> walk </em> into the forest," he said, a hint of bitterness in his voice. "Who are you, really?" </p><p>"I told you, my name is Virgil." </p><p>He frowned. "We'll see about that." He grabbed Virgil's wrist and began to drag him deeper into the forest, not really giving Virgil much of a choice but to follow. Virgil glanced back, noticing that he couldn't even see the entrance to the forest anymore - but that couldn't be right, because he'd only just entered the forest. He couldn't have walked in <em> that </em> deep already... right? </p><p>"Could you maybe explain what's going on?" Virgil asked. </p><p>The man - he must've been a person, if he was able to communicate with Virgil - huffed. "Don't act all innocent. You know <em> exactly </em> what's going on." </p><p>"Actually, uh, I'm very confused about all this," Virgil said, eyes darting around and taking in as much as he could of the forest. It looked... somewhat normal, he supposed, but something felt off. </p><p>"You're not fooling me," the man said. "I bet Remus sent you, didn't he?" </p><p>Virgil blinked. "I, um, don't know anyone called Remus." </p><p>"Don't play dumb with me," the man snapped. </p><p>Virgil was silent for a moment, realising that the man wasn't going to listen. It was best to just go along with him at this point, maybe get this whole thing over and done with so he could leave the forest and continue his life. </p><p>"Hey, any chance you could let go of my wrist?" Virgil wondered. "It's kinda hurting a little." </p><p>The man glared at him. "Why should that be my problem?" </p><p>"I-I dunno, I mean, you're the one kidnapping me, or whatever." He shoved his free hand in his pocket. </p><p>"<em> You're </em> the one <em> trespassing </em> in our part of the forest," the man claimed, tightening his grip. </p><p>Trespassing. Ah. That was something that Virgil had thought about earlier, wasn't it? Maybe walking through the field hadn't been such a great idea. </p><p>"Listen, I'm sorry, okay?" Virgil said. "I didn't know this was your forest, or whatever. I was just walking and found this place." </p><p>The man growled. "You don't just <em> walk </em> into this forest. I <em> know </em> that Remus sent you, you don't have to make excuses." </p><p>Virgil sighed. "I literally have no idea who this 'Remus' guy is." </p><p>"Remus. The Lord of Darkness. You know. The person you're working for." </p><p>"I am seventeen years old and unemployed," Virgil said, only half-telling the truth - technically he <em> did </em> have a job, working retail for some extra cash, most of which <em> they </em> took away anyway, but he supposed he didn't have that job anymore. Since he ran away and all. </p><p>The man laughed. "Seventeen, that's funny." </p><p>Virgil frowned. "How is that funny?" </p><p>"C'mon. I mean. You're fully grown." The man shook his head. "You must be at least five hundred, right? Maybe into the thousands." </p><p>Virgil blinked. "That... You are joking, right?" </p><p>The man stopped and turned his head to face Virgil. "You're not?" </p><p>"Well, obviously I'm not joking, I don't think it's physically possible for me to be over five hundred years old." </p><p>His eyes widened. "Wait, you're a human, aren't you?" </p><p>"What else would I be?" </p><p>"So... Remus didn't send you?" </p><p>Virgil groaned. "That's what I've been trying to tell you!" </p><p>He let go of his wrist. Sighing with relief, Virgil began to rub his wrist, glancing down to notice a red mark forming. </p><p>"Could you please explain what's going on?" Virgil requested. </p><p>The man sighed. "I suppose so. If you're really not with Remus." He bowed his head. "I'm Roman, Lord of Summer." </p><p>Virgil snorted. "<em> Lord of Summer </em> ?" he repeated. "What's <em> that </em> supposed to mean?" </p><p>Roman rolled his eyes, continuing to walk deeper into the forest. "It's kinda self-explanatory." </p><p>Virgil ran to catch up with him, before slowing down and walking by his side. "Well. Not really. May I remind you that I have absolutely no idea what is going on." </p><p>Roman looked over at him. "How did you get into the forest?" he asked, again. </p><p>"I told you, I just walked in," Virgil said. </p><p>"Huh." Roman looked ahead. "That's never happened before. I didn't even know humans <em> could </em> come into the forest." </p><p>Virgil wondered if that meant that Roman himself wasn't a human, which in turn led him to question what the hell Roman actually was. He called himself the <em> Lord of Summer </em> , which must have meant something, right? And being the <em> Lord of Summer </em>also implied there were others 'Lords' - presumably of Spring, Autumn and Winter. </p><p>Roman stopped walking, so Virgil did too, a little confused. They stood in front of a giant tree, so tall that Virgil couldn't even see the top. It's leaves had fallen, and had been replaced by icicles, with frost lining the branches. That didn't seem right. It didn't seem right at all. </p><p>At the base there was a wooden door, which Roman walked towards and opened, stepping inside. Virgil followed him, becoming more confused by the second. Roman led him down a spiral staircase, carved out of the tree's wood, until they reached a large hall, almost like some sort of... throne room. </p><p>At the end of the hall, another man sat on a chair, staring at the two of them with a scowl on his face. As the two approached the man, Virgil tried to get a closer look. His yellow eyes were surrounded by green scales, and he had a scar running all the way down the right side of his face. He wore a black shirt with yellow lacing, and a black cloak falling all the way down to the floor. He seemed angry. </p><p>"Roman, who is this?" he asked, leaning forward in his chair. </p><p>Roman bowed, kneeling down. "Prince Janus, Lord of the Forest, this is Virgil," he introduced. </p><p>The man - Janus, Virgil presumed - frowned. "Is this one of Remus' servants?" </p><p>Roman shook his head, standing back up again. "No. He's a human." </p><p>"A human?" Janus smirked. "And how did a human get into the forest? Did you bring him here?" </p><p>"No, your highness." Roman glanced at Virgil. "He says he just 'walked in'." </p><p>Janus raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. Is that the truth?" he asked, turning to Virgil. </p><p>Virgil cleared his throat. "Uh, yeah. I was walking and found a forest and walked inside." He paused. "Well, no, actually, I was kinda pulled inside by... I dunno, the wind, or something. But yeah, I walked here." </p><p>"Pulled by the wind, you say?" Janus repeated. </p><p>"Yeah." Virgil glanced down, refusing to look Janus in the eye, but he could still feel Janus’ gaze fixed upon him, digging into his skull. "There were leaves, or something. The wind picked up and... I dunno, I couldn't really control myself." </p><p>Janus stood up, and stepped towards Virgil. He reached out a gloved hand and raised Virgil's head, forcing him to look into his eyes. He glanced over at Roman. "Do you think...?" </p><p>Roman moved over to them, looking Virgil up and down. "He could be. But... he's a human. Can they..." </p><p>"Call Logan," Janus ordered. </p><p>Roman nodded, and walked out the hall, leaving Virgil alone with Janus. Great. </p><p>"Follow me," Janus instructed, beginning to walk to the side of the hall. Virgil followed, however reluctantly. They walked out of the hall and into a sort of garden, stopping once they reached a fountain. "Touch the water." </p><p>Virgil frowned. "What?" </p><p>"Touch the water," Janus repeated. </p><p>Confusion only growing, Virgil reached out and let the tips of his finger fall onto the water's surface. He felt stupid, as Janus stared at him expectantly, but he wasn't about to argue against Janus. Roman had called him a Prince, so he must have been important, right? </p><p>He drew back his hand in shock, as a small lotus flower bloomed on the water's surface. He looked down at his hands, beginning to grow tiny petals on his fingertips. </p><p>"What... What did you do?" he asked, turning to Janus. </p><p>Janus smirked, although he was unable to hide the excitement in his eyes. "I did nothing. That was you." </p><p>Virgil felt his hands shake. He took a couple deep breaths to calm down. "What are you talking about?" </p><p>Janus smiled at him, and then began to walk away, through another doorway on the other side of the garden. Virgil ran to catch up with him, slowing down as they entered another room. Four orbs were stationed in the middle - a glowing blue one decorated in snowflakes, a red one decorated in leaves, a yellow one decorated in a drawing of the sun, and a faded grey one decorated in dying flowers. </p><p>"I'm... aware that you don't know much about the place you are in," Janus began, walking towards the orbs, "but I believe you may be of use to us. Here in the forest, we have the four Lords of the Seasons, who take turns in keeping the forest alive. I, myself, am the Lord of the Forest - I, of course, aid in keeping the forest alive, but mostly I'm here to rule. You've already met the Lord of Summer - Roman, as I'm sure you're aware, and soon enough you'll meet the Lords of Autumn and Winter - Patton and Logan." He picked up the grey orb. "We currently don't have a Lord of Spring." </p><p>Virgil frowned, stepping towards Janus. "Why?" </p><p>"That's... That's a story for another day," Janus said. "However, I believe you might be able to take his place." </p><p>Virgil blinked. "Me?" </p><p>"Yes. Hold this, please." </p><p>He handed the orb to Virgil, who took it. It vibrated upon contact with his skin. But nothing else happened. </p><p>Janus sighed. "Perhaps you're not ready yet." He took the orb back, putting it back in place. </p><p>"Ready for what?" Virgil asked. </p><p>Janus just smiled. "You'll find out soon enough. Come," he said, beginning to walk back towards the hall, "I'm sure Logan is ready by now. He'll have something to say." </p><p>Virgil walked besides Janus. "Logan is the Lord of Winter, right?" he recalled. </p><p>"Yes," Janus confirmed, "and he's been on the job for a hundred years." </p><p>Virgil glanced down. "Is that... Is that because you don't have a Lord of Spring?" </p><p>"What do you <em> think </em>?"</p><p>"Ah." Virgil put his hands in his pockets. "Sorry." </p><p>"Don't apologise," Janus said. "You're new here." </p><p>They entered the hall. Roman stood there with another person - Logan, Virgil assumed - floating a couple feet off the floor. He had icy blue skin detailed with light blue cracks on his forehead, along with light blue hair in plaits either side of his face and one down his back. He wore an outfit very similar to Roman's - blue, floor length dress and a cape made from a light. A pair of rectangular glasses sat in front of his piercing blue eyes, and a chain with a moon charm hung around his neck. </p><p>He floated towards Virgil, running his fingers down Virgil's cheeks. "Interesting."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. but after sunlit days, one thing stays the same</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Virgil felt a chill run down his back. Logan stared at him, intrigue in his eyes, a hand still placed on Virgil's check. Virgil wanted to push the hand away, but he couldn't move - he was frozen in place. </p><p>Logan withdrew his hand, wiping it down on his dress. "My apologies. You're a human, correct?" </p><p>Able to move again, Virgil raised his hand up to his check, rubbing it gently. It was hardened, almost, and cold to the touch. Slippery. Like ice. </p><p>Logan sighed. "Roman, would you come here?" </p><p>Roman rushed over, summoning a small sun and holding it up to Virgil's check, allowing the ice to melt away. "Sorry about Logan, he's never interacted with a real human being before." </p><p>"What, and you have?" Logan retorted, seemingly agitated. </p><p>"At least I <em> know </em> not to inflict my magic onto them," Roman said, folding his arms. </p><p>"I didn't <em> mean </em> to do anything." Logan glared at Roman. "I was just curious." He turned back to Virgil, and floated even closer. "So, as I asked before, you're a human?" </p><p>Virgil nodded. "Uh, yeah." </p><p>"And Roman says you just 'walked' into the forest," Logan said. </p><p>"Yeah," Virgil confirmed. "I don't know how many times I have to say that." </p><p>"It's alright, I believe you-" He frowned. "Virgil, right?" </p><p>"Yeah. And you're Logan?" </p><p>"That is me." Logan drifted away, beginning to float out of the hall. "Come." </p><p>Virgil glanced back at Janus, who motioned for him to follow Logan, before stepping towards Logan, following a few feet behind. Roman joined him at his side, as Logan left the hall and returned up the spiral staircase, back out into the forest. As they went, ice grew over the staircase and eventually on the trees once they made it outside, spreading an air of mist across the forest. </p><p>Logan cringed once he realised what had happened. "I'm sorry. Roman, could you-" </p><p>"Of course." Roman turned around to face the tree, conjuring another small sun. He held it up to the tree and ice began to slowly melt away, but Virgil noticed that slightly more than before remained. </p><p>"Virgil," Logan said, moving around to face him. "I am... aware that you are a human, and likely do not understand what is going on, but I believe you may be able to help us-" </p><p>"Yeah, Janus already told me that," Virgil interrupted. </p><p>Logan raised an eyebrow. "Did he tell you anything else?" </p><p>Virgil shrugged. "Just about the whole season thing y'all have going on. He showed me those weird orbs. And apparently I made a flower grow, I don't know, I think it was a prank or something-" </p><p>"You grew a flower?" Logan repeated. </p><p>"Yeah, in that fountain-" </p><p>"So, you're the new Lord of Spring?" </p><p>Virgil blinked, and stepped back. "Um, I'm not sure. Janus told me that and made me hold that weird orb thingy, but..." </p><p>"Nothing happened?" Logan guessed. </p><p>Virgil nodded. </p><p>"Ah." Logan sighed. "Perhaps you need more training." </p><p>He began to drift through the forest, with Roman and Virgil quickly following. The sun began to set over the trees, casting an orange glow over them. </p><p>Logan stopped, glancing at Roman. "The sun's setting." </p><p>Roman's eyes widened. "We should find Patton." </p><p>Logan nodded. "Yes. Patton." </p><p>"Who's Patton?" Virgil asked, glancing around the forest as they continued to walk. </p><p>"The Lord of Autumn," Logan stated. "He's been... resting, for a while now. Too long. He's beginning to grow tired of it, but his powers haven't fully returned yet." </p><p>"All fo- All <em> three </em> of us follow a schedule," Roman continued, looking over at Virgil. "We have an era of work, an era of rest, then two eras of practise. Since Patton had his era of work before Logan, he's now in rest, but... none of us have ever rested this long before." </p><p>"None of us have <em> worked </em> this long before, either," Logan added, sounding a little bitter. </p><p>Roman sighed. "I know, Logan. It will be your era of rest soon, I'm sure." </p><p>"Well." Logan glanced down at Virgil. "We'll have to wait and see." </p><p>"What happened to the old Lord of Spring?" Virgil wondered. </p><p>Logan froze. "He... That's none of your business." He started to move faster, flying ahead and apparently deciding to ignore the other two. </p><p>"What's up with-" </p><p>"He was close to the old Lord of Spring," Roman explained, his voice lowered to a whisper. "It's hard for him." </p><p>"Oh." Virgil hummed. "Can you tell me, then?" </p><p>Roman glanced to the floor. "I was close to him too. He was... well, he did his job, I suppose, but over the years something in him changed. I don't know what happened, exactly. He isn't... If he were to bring about spring again, it could be disastrous for us all." </p><p>Logan stopped in front of a small cottage. "We're here," he announced, landing his bare feet on the ground and walking through the small wooden gate. Roman and Virgil followed him down the cobblestone path towards the cottage, Virgil glancing at the colourful flowers on either side of the path and along the windows. The cottage was built with stone bricks, with wooden panels holding it together, and a roof made from straw - in short, it looked like it came straight out of a storybook. </p><p>Before Logan knocked on the door, it swung upon, revealing a short, stout man on the other side. He had bright pink skin and long red hair, half-tied up in two buns on the top of his head. A pair of round framed glasses sat upon his nose, with an array of freckles spread out underneath. He wore a cream, woollen jumper underneath a blue dressing gown, with a heart necklace wrapped around his neck. </p><p>"Logan! Roman!" he exclaimed, stepping to the side and allowing the three of them to enter. "Oh! And our new Lord of Spring! Does he have a name, yet?" </p><p>Virgil glanced nervously at the other two, who had dragged him inside to what he assumed to be Patton's house and sat him down on the couch. Roman and Logan sat on either side of them, whilst Patton stepped towards the kitchen, still clearly visible from the 'living room' - the entire cottage was open plan, asides from what Virgil assumed to be either a bedroom or a bathroom through one door. </p><p>"This is Virgil," Logan introduced, raising his voice over the sound of the kettle boiling. </p><p>"Virgil," Patton repeated. "Yeah, that fits." </p><p>"We believe he may be the new Lord of Spring," Logan continued. </p><p>"Oh, yeah, I know." He began to pour out a few cups of tea. "I brought him here." </p><p>Roman frowned. "Sorry, what?" </p><p>"I was watching him in the field and he looked so lonely," Patton said. Changing the conversation slightly, he asked, "Hey, Virgil, how do you like your tea?" </p><p>Virgil blinked. "Uh, milk, two sugars," he answered. </p><p>Patton smirked. "Ah, so you're sane, good to know." </p><p>After another moment of silence, he brought the teas over, handing a cup to all three of them before sitting down in an armchair to the side, beginning to drink his own tea. Virgil cautiously lifted the cup up to his own lips, not really sure if he should be drinking it - he liked tea, sure, but this was some weird forest-people tea. But hey, he had nothing to lose anyway. If he got poisoned and died, then oh well - it would certainly be a weight off his shoulders. </p><p>The tea wasn't half bad. In fact, it was bloody brilliant. Before Virgil knew it, the cup was empty, and a warm feeling had spread through his body, a feeling of peace. </p><p>"Patton," Logan said, placing the tea down on the coffee table in front of him, "could you maybe elaborate on your story." </p><p>Patton took a big gulp of his tea, before placing it on the table as well. "Oh, yeah, sorry. I saw Virgil wandering around the field and he stopped in front of the forest. I'd gotten bored this morning so I went for a walk to the edge - I like watching the humans, y'know? But Virgil was the first human I saw who actually <em> noticed </em> the forest. So, y'know, I gave him a little nudge inside." </p><p>Virgil frowned, then stared at Patton, his eyes widening in realisation. "Was it you that made those leaves do... that." </p><p>Patton nodded, grinning. "Yup! Used up what little left I had of my powers, too. Something told me that you were... special." </p><p>"Well," Logan said, after taking another sip of his drink, "the sun is setting, so I believe you may have been right." </p><p>Patton blinked. "The... The sun is setting?" </p><p>Logan smiled. "Indeed. We came by here to tell you that." </p><p>"Wait, why is the sun setting so important?" Virgil asked, subconsciously glancing at Roman's still full cup. Roman seemed to notice this and sighed, handing the tea over. Smirking, Virgil gulped it down. </p><p>"The sun setting marks the beginning of a new stage in the seasons," Logan began to explain. "It hasn't set for a while because we haven't had a Lord of Spring around to help with the ceremony." </p><p>Placing Roman's cup down, Virgil raised an eyebrow. "The ceremony?" </p><p>"You'll see soon enough," Logan stated. "For now, we should head down to the lake. Even if we're wrong about Virgil and spring doesn't commence, we should at least all get a refresher on our powers." </p><p>Patton stood up and took off his dressing gown and jumper, revealing a blue t-shirt underneath. He wrapped his jumper around his shoulders to create a sort of cape, then began to exit the house. "C'mon, guys, we haven't a second to lose!" </p><p>The four of them left Patton's cottage and began to walk through the woods, Logan floating a little way ahead. Patton fell back besides Virgil, judging him gently on the shoulder. </p><p>"Welcome to the forest," he said, quietly but enthusiastically. "I think you'll like it here." </p><p>Virgil sighed. "I... still don't exactly know what <em> here </em> is." </p><p>Patton smiled. "You will soon enough. There's something about you, kiddo. You're going to do great things." </p><p>Virgil shoved his hands in his pockets and tried not to think about that. Great things…</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. rises the moon</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The sky was dark now, and the stars reflected across the gentle waves of the lake. Virgil had been put into a position by the shore, with Logan floating out a little bit into the lake and Roman and Patton stood either side of him. He wasn't entirely sure what was going on, and nobody seemed to be willing to explain it to him. </p><p>Slowly, the moon began to rise over the horizon, causing a bright light to shimmer across the surface of the water. Logan began to glow a light blue as he closed his eyes, holding his arms out to the side. Besides Virgil, Roman began to glow yellow and Patton orange, both of them beginning to lift off the ground. Virgil stood there confused, watching the moon, until he too began to hover a few feet above the ground, beginning to emit a green light. </p><p>He immediately began to panic as his feet no longer touched the ground, afraid that at any moment he would fall to his death. Which, again, huge weight off his shoulders, but... dying didn't seem to be a great option right now. Especially since these people apparently needed him to be their 'Lord of Spring' or whatever. Sounded like a lot of responsibility, but definitely better than the usual shit that went on his life.</p><p>Maybe this whole thing was a dream. Maybe he was about to wake up back in his bed, back <em>there</em>. Nobody really needed him. He wasn't about to become some sort of <em>magical being.</em> This forest didn't exist, and Virgil definitely wasn't magical. </p><p>He felt himself hit the floor, wincing a little in pain. Ah, that proved his theory. He must have fallen off his bed, or something. That happened a lot. </p><p>Expect... the glows around him were still there. <em>His </em>glow was gone, but the other three glows weren't fading. He glanced up, seeing that he was still by a lake with the moon rising, and Logan, Patton and Roman were still floating in the air around him. Only different was he was now on his hands and knees on the ground, feeling as though he might be sick. </p><p>The other three floated down, Patton immediately rushing to Virgil's side and rubbing his back gently. "Hey, kiddo, you okay?"</p><p>Virgil nodded. "I'm fine," he said, meekly, as he tried to stand up but fell over again. </p><p>Logan hummed, stepping towards Virgil. "Hunan's aren't supposed to float midair, are they? Falling from great heights is harmful for them... Do you think he's broken a bone?" </p><p>Virgil shook his head. "I'm fine, Logan. Just give me a minute." He took in a deep breath, then pushed himself back to his feet, swaying a little managing to balance himself. </p><p>Patton hummed. "Is it normal for humans to be swaying that much?" </p><p>"Yeah, totally," Virgil murmured, holding his head in his hands as a splitting headache came out. "We... always sway this much. It's our favourite thing to do." </p><p>The other three shared a concerned look, before Patton grabbed his arm. "C'mon, you should get some rest." </p><p>Virgil pulled his arm back, causing him to lose his balance once again and fall to the floor. This time, he stayed, folding his legs and hoisting his elbows upon his knees to hold his head. "Nah, it's fine, I'll just stay here. You guys can continue doing your weird glow-y shit." He sat there for a moment longer, taking deep breaths to try to force himself to feel better, but the other three didn't move. </p><p>He could hear them muttering, whispering about him, talking as though he couldn't my hear. </p><p>"We shouldn't have pushed him," Patton said, sounding a little... sad. </p><p>"He's just not ready," Logan said. "That's fine. He has time to train before the next moonrise." </p><p>"He's ill, Logan," Patton argued. "Can't you <em> see </em> that?" </p><p>"He's not ill," Roman countered. "He said that he's fine." </p><p>"Oh my goodness, Roman, he's <em> clearly </em> lying." </p><p>"Y'know I can hear everything that you're saying, right?" Virgil said, glancing up. The sick feeling had disappeared, at least, but the headache only seemed to be getting worse. </p><p>"I'm sorry, Virgil," Patton said, stepping towards him and sitting down. "We've never had a human in the forest before, so this is all a little new to us." </p><p>Virgil rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, I've never been in a magical forest before, and I've never met weird season spirits before, and I've definitely never hovered twenty feet off the ground before." </p><p>Patton rubbed his back gently, and... it helped, actually. He did begin to feel a little better - emotionally rather than physically, the headache only seemed to worsen, but it was a start. They stayed there for a while longer, with Patton rubbing Virgil's back, until eventually Virgil repositioned himself, letting his hands fall down to the floor and allowing himself to look out over the lake. </p><p>The moon had risen quite a bit now, now fully visible in the sky. Stars surrounded it, way more stars than Virgil had ever seen before. He smiled. </p><p>Patton repositioned himself as well, moving so his arm was wrapped around Virgil's shoulders. At first, Virgil tensed up, not really sure what Patton was planning, but eventually he melted into it, feeling... content. Warm. The others had left now, so it was just him and Patton, sitting there peacefully watching the stars. </p><p>He glanced at Patton. "So, can you explain now what just happened?" His headache was finally beginning to go away, replaced with curiosity. </p><p>"The moon rose," Patton said. </p><p>"Well, yeah, obviously-" </p><p>"When the moon rises, our powers are restored," Patton continued. "It also usually marks the change of season, although not always. Like tonight. It's still winter, I believe." He sighed. "It'll be spring soon though, I'm sure. Once you get a grip on all of this." </p><p>Virgil glanced down, fixing his eyes on the ground. "What if I can't?" he whispered. </p><p>Patton's grip loosened a little, which caused Virgil to be slightly disappointed. "Huh?" </p><p>"What if I can't?" he repeated, louder. "I mean, you saw what just happened - I freaked out and broke the spell or whatever was going on, I don't know." </p><p>"It was your first try, Virgil," Patton said. "It's alright. We can teach you. I believe in you." </p><p>Virgil shook his head. "I shouldn't even be here. I'm a fucking child. I should be studying for my GCSE's right now. Maybe... Maybe I should just go back home-" </p><p>Patton reached down with his free arm and grabbed Virgil's hand, holding it gently. He hugged him tighter and Virgil relaxed. "I know you're scared," he said, quietly, "but everything is gonna be okay. You're here for a reason, Virgil. If you wasn't supposed to be here, you wouldn't have found the forest." </p><p>Virgil blinked. "Can I stay here?" he asked. </p><p>Patton frowned. "I... I mean, we kinda need you here, so..." </p><p>"I mean, even if I can't do the whole spring thing," he clarified. "I... don't want to go back. You guys have been nice to me. Apart from Roman, he was a jerk at the start, but <em> you've </em> been nice at least." </p><p>Patton seemed confused. "Were people... not nice? To you?" </p><p>"Humans fucking suck." He sighed. "I'm sure some people were nice. But if they were that good I probably wouldn't be here in the first place." </p><p>He felt Patton's finger draw a tiny circle on the back of his hand, over and over again, going round and round in a soothing pattern. "Of course you can, Virgil. You can stay as long as you want." </p><p>Virgil smiled. He didn't say anything else, but closed his eyes, leaning into Patton's chest. Patton was warm, and comfortable, and it wasn't long before Virgil had drifted off to a peaceful sleep.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. days fade into a watercolour blur</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>hey, just a note, i've gone back and changed daemon's name to janus bc. that is better for me ye thank you hope you enjoy~</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Virgil woke up in an unfamiliar room, in an unfamiliar bed, with somewhat familiar people standing at the end. For a moment, he panicked, going to hide under the covers, before he realised what was going on.</p><p>He was in some weird forest, and had fallen asleep by a lake, and must have been moved into a bedroom somewhere. When he emerged from the covers, whoever had been standing at the end of the bed was gone. Virgil sat up, glancing around the room.</p><p>He was in a double bed, with a warm, orange quilt, and the softest pillows he'd ever felt. The room was... nice, he supposed. The wallpaper was covered in leaves, with various paintings of different people hung up. A small lamp sat on the bedside table besides him, with a cup of tea placed underneath. He picked the tea up, beginning to drink it - it was the same tea as the day before. Beautiful, perfect, Virgil immediately felt a million times calmer.</p><p>Ah. He must have been in Patton's house. That was Patton's tea, right? Unless all tea here tasted like that. Which, either way, Virgil wasn't complaining. He pushed the covers off him and got out of bed, noticing his backpack sitting the corner. He rushed over towards it, picking it up and throwing onto the bed before opening it and taking out a change of clothes. He was still wearing the clothes he had on yesterday, or two days ago maybe - he wasn't actually sure how long it had been.</p><p>His new clothes weren't that different from the last, just a slightly different shade of purple for a shirt and a clean pair of black, ripped jeans, with the same hoodie as before over the top. He sat back on the bed, grabbing a cereal bar out of his bag and beginning to eat.</p><p>There was a gentle knock on the door, causing Virgil to almost fall off the bed. Patton slowly entered, whilst Virgil turned his head to face him.</p><p>"Oh! You're awake," Patton noticed, coming to sit down next to him. He frowned. "What are you eating?"</p><p>Virgil swallowed. "This is a cereal bar."</p><p>Patton blinked. "What's that?"</p><p>"Y'know." Virgil's eyes darted to the side. "Cereal. But in a bar."</p><p>"What's cereal?"</p><p>"Do you... not have cereal here?"</p><p>Patton shook his head.</p><p>Virgil hummed. He turned back to his bag and picked up another cereal bar, handing it to Patton. "Try it."</p><p>Patton stared at it for a moment, before shoving it in his mouth. Virgil's eyes widened. He grabbed Patton's hand before he could crunch down on it.</p><p>"Uh, you're meant to take the wrapper off," Virgil said, sheepishly.</p><p>"Oh." Patton lowered his arm and Virgil loosened his grip. He watched Patton unwrap the bar and begin to chew on it, his face going through various stages of mostly disgust. "That does not taste nice."</p><p>Virgil shrugged. "I mean, it's not exactly <em>supposed </em>to taste nice. It's just breakfast."</p><p>"Oh!" Patton exclaimed. "We have breakfast here too. But it's a lot nicer than whatever this is."</p><p>Virgil raised an eyebrow. "Oh, yeah?"</p><p>"Yeah!" Patton stood up. "C'mon, I was just about to make some." He grabbed Virgil's hand and dragged him out the room, into the kitchen.</p><p>"So, what do y'all have for breakfast?" Virgil wondered.</p><p>"Fruit, mostly," Patton replied. He turned to a bowl of berries and picked up some sort of whisk, beginning to mash them up. "Mixed in with sap."</p><p>Virgil frowned. "<em>Sap</em>? Like, from trees?"</p><p>"Yeah," Patton said. "Is that a problem?"</p><p>"I mean, we don't usually go around drinking sap." Virgil took another bite of his own cereal bar. "Some of it is poisonous to us, I think."</p><p>Patton glanced at him. "Nah, you'll be fine." He poured some sort of liquid into the bowl, mixed it up for a moment, then turned around and handed the bowl to Virgil. "Here, try it."</p><p>Virgil hesitated, but took the bowl. "Alright, but if I die, it's your fault." Wasn't as if he had anything to lose, anyway. Inside the bowl was a yoghurt-like substances, a light pink colour, with silver sparkles scattered around. Patton handed him a spoon and he began to eat, eyes widening.</p><p>Patton frowned. "Uh, are you-"</p><p>"If I'd known all the food and drinks here were so good I would have come years ago."</p><p>Patton grinned. "You like it?"</p><p>"Like it?" Virgil felt as though he was close to tears. "Patton, this is the best thing I have ever eaten." He handed the bowl back to Patton. "Its, uh, your breakfast though, so you should-"</p><p>"We can share," Patton offered.</p><p>Virgil's eyes lit up.</p><p>~*~</p><p>He wasn't sure how many days it had been since he arrived in the forest. Time was weird here - it was always day time, save for when the moon rose, which had only happened once so far. So it was difficult to tell exactly how long Virgil had been in the forest, but he still went to sleep every now and then, staying at Patton's house. It must have been quite a few of his normal human days, possibly weeks, but there was no way to know for sure. At this point, he had ran out of the supplies he had brought, and fully moved to a diet of whatever delicious dish Patton made. And it was nice. Things were nice.</p><p>One 'afternoon' - not really afternoon, but it had been a while since Virgil had last slept, so he'd deemed it 'afternoon' - he found himself wandering around the forest, when he saw Roman sat off to the side. He moved over towards him and sat down, looking at a watercolour painting laid out of the floor in front of Roman. It displayed a picture of a fountain, with crystal clear waters and multicoloured flowers surrounding it.</p><p>"Did you paint that?" Virgil asked.</p><p>Roman glanced up at him. "No."</p><p>Virgil backed. "Oh. Uh-"</p><p>"I'm joking," Roman said, "of course I painted it."</p><p>Virgil let out a small smile. "Uh, it's nice."</p><p>"Thanks."</p><p>Things were weird between Virgil and Roman. Thought it definitely wasn't as bad as when Virgil first arrived in the forest, it certainly wasn't the best. It seemed like Roman didn't trust him - which was fair enough, really, he'd just wandered in here out of nowhere and decided to move in with his friend. Not really a great source of trust.</p><p>But Roman was being... civil, at least. That was all Virgil could really ask for.</p><p>"So," Virgil said, "uh, how are you?"</p><p>Roman glared at him. "You don't have to talk to me, y'know."</p><p>Virgil glanced down. "I, uh..."</p><p>"You're not even meant to be here," Roman said. "Just... go home."</p><p>Virgil wanted to tell him that he <em>couldn't </em>go home, that going home would only end in disaster, but Roman stood up and walked away. He had left his painting supplies on the ground. Humming, Virgil picked up the paintbrush and began to paint, not really thinking about what he was drawing. It ended up being a painting of a flower, similar to the one he had created in the fountain. Huh.</p><p>Eventually, Roman returned, sitting down with a huff. "So not only are you stealing the forest, you've also stolen my painting supplies."</p><p>Virgil put the paintbrush down. "Sorry. I just-"</p><p>"It doesn't matter." Roman sighed. "Just go talk to Patton or something. He likes you, right?"</p><p>~*~</p><p>Eventually, Virgil always ended up back on the sofa with Patton, in his - in <em>their </em>little cottage. They'd listen to a song playing on some old record player, human music that Patton had managed to steal from the world outside. Sometimes Virgil would lay on Patton's legs, closing his eyes and falling asleep as Patton played with his hair. Sometimes Virgil would sit up and paint, after Patton went to get him his own watercolour set.</p><p>"You'll have to start your training soon," Patton said quietly.</p><p>Virgil sat up. "What?"</p><p>"Your training," Patton repeated. "To be the next Lord of Spring. You'll need to learn how to use your powers before the next moon rises..."</p><p>Virgil hummed. "How do I do that?"</p><p>"I think Janus wants to start training you soon," Patton said. "He'll be waiting for you when you're ready."</p><p>Virgil shuddered. "I... I don't know how to feel about that guy, Pat."</p><p>"He can be a little intense," Patton admitted, "but he's good. You can trust him. He trained me, and Logan and Roman, and..."</p><p>Virgil glanced down. "And Remus?" he guessed.</p><p>"Yeah, him." Patton sighed. "I think you should go soon. Maybe the next time you wake."</p><p>Virgil laid back down, collapsing into Patton's legs. "What if I screw it all up, though?"</p><p>"You won't do that."</p><p>"That's pretty much all I'm good at," Virgil argued. "If it wasn't, then I probably wouldn't be here in the first place." He sighed. "I, uh... I'm scared."</p><p>"That's alright," Patton said. "Being scared is perfectly normal."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. memories swim and haunt you</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>hey! i’m sorry for the delay in this update haha, i’ve been working a lot on my big bang fic + pride month was a thing, b u t i’m back and should be able to get back to regular updates now :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Virgil panted, falling down to the floor. Janus hovered over him, his glare intensifying. Virgil was trying his best, he really was - he'd even managed to grow some flowers around the room, grow some grass over the throne. But Janus wasn't letting him stop.</p>
<p>"You have to <em>feel</em> it, Virgil," Janus kept saying.</p>
<p>"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Virgil finally snapped.</p>
<p>Janus sighed. "It <em>means</em>, you need to <em>become</em> spring. Feel the flowers within you. Be what you wish to create."</p>
<p>Virgil rolled his eyes. "There aren't any <em>flowers</em> in me. I'm doing exactly what you're telling me too."</p>
<p>Janus flew towards him, grabbing his shoulders and pulling him up off the ground. "That isn't enough. It has to come from within you." He turned away, taking a deep breath. "Try again."</p>
<p>"Okay, fine." Virgil closed his eyes and straighten his back. He raised his arms, trying to relax himself, clear his mind, and <em>feel</em> the flowers within him, whatever <em>that</em> meant.</p>
<p>But nothing happened.</p>
<p>He opened one eye, cringing as he saw Janus glaring at him.</p>
<p>Janus sighed. "This... This isn't working." He glanced to the side. "Take five. We'll try again in a bit." He turned, leaving the throne room.</p>
<p>Virgil let out a relieved sigh, allowing himself to fall to the floor and sit crossed-legged, his chin propped up by his elbow. He wasn't sure how long he'd been doing this for, it must have been several human days by now. He hadn't been given the chance to sleep, and he imagined that soon he'd just pass out from exhaustion, but he was still going. Janus wouldn't give him a proper chance to rest, would he? Maybe he didn't know that humans needed sleep in order to function properly. In his defence, Virgil didn't really sleep as much as the regular human, so maybe he was just a bad example for Janus.</p>
<p>He laid back on the ground, staring up at the tall ceiling above. The roots from the tree twisted around, holding the ground up, and Virgil was sure that patterns had been carved into the wood, though he couldn't quite tell what. His vision was beginning to go blurry. He closed his eyes.</p>
<p>
  <em>Virgil stared up at his ceiling, trying to ignore the tears streaming down his face. If he acknowledged them, then he'd lost. It meant that they were right.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>He shouldn't have been there. This wasn't the place for him. Never had been, never will be. He'd been here forever, hadn't he? Why was he here, when he so clearly didn't belong? When the last thing he wanted was to be here?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>He could hear muffled voices downstairs, undoubtedly talking about him, insulting him, plotting against him. He closed his eyes and tried to think, tried to block out the voices from downstairs. He recited songs in his head, comforting songs that helped him sleep, or aggressive songs that helped him through his troubles, or happy songs that helped him forget his troubles. Anything to get the voices to go away.</em>
</p>
<p>"Virgil," a voice said. He opened his eyes, sighing when he saw Janus leaning over him. Janus poked his side, causing Virgil to sit up. "Did you momentarily die?"</p>
<p>"I was sleeping," Virgil stated. "Y'know. Like humans are supposed to."</p>
<p>"You were sleeping before you got here," Janus recalled, sounding rather puzzled by Virgil's behaviour.</p>
<p>"Yeah, I was," Virgil confirmed. "But, believe it or not, humans aren't supposed to stay awake for several days straight."</p>
<p>Janus hummed. "We're still on the same day, aren't we? The sun has yet to set."</p>
<p>"Time's weird here," Virgil said.</p>
<p>"Right." Janus sighed. "Well, now that you've had your <em>sleep</em>, we should return to your training-" </p>
<p>"Actually," Virgil interrupted, "I think we should stop for a while. I didn't exactly... get the sleep that I needed."</p>
<p>"What are you talking about? You were just sleeping now."</p>
<p>Virgil rolled his eyes. "Five minutes isn't enough sleep, Janus."</p>
<p>Janus stared at him, puzzled.</p>
<p>Virgil sighed. "We're meant to sleep for, like, eight hours."</p>
<p>"You sleep all the time," Janus said, "surely you've have eight hours by now."</p>
<p>"No, like, eight hours in every twenty four hours," he clarified. "If we don't..."</p>
<p><em>He hadn't slept in days, and people were starting to noticed. Starting to stare at him, snicker at the dark circles under his eyes. He was starting to fall asleep in class, teachers now shouting at him as well, telling him to pay attention. He was </em>trying<em> to pay attention - it wasn't his fault everything was so fuzzy, so blurry all the time. It wasn't his fault that every time he closed his eyes, he drifted off someplace else, desperately trying to get every ounce of sleep that he could, all that he had missed.</em></p>
<p>
  <em>Maybe it was his fault. Maybe he should be sleeping more. But when he was asleep he was vulnerable, and he wouldn't be able to watch his door, keep watch for the bad thing that was coming soon. He didn't know what bad thing, but it would be coming. The shouting was only getting worse, and he was scared, all the time, always scared that things would go really bad. That they would find something and use it against him and he'd be gone.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>So he tried to catch up on his missed sleep when he was safe, at school, but he wasn't allowed to sleep there. And the teachers were starting to ask what was wrong. He wasn't sure how much longer he'd be able to keep up the act for.</em>
</p>
<p>Janus was touching his shoulders now, shaking him gently. "Virgil? Did I break you?"</p>
<p>Virgil blinked. "No, I-" He rubbed his forehead. "Just remembered something, don't worry." He yawned.</p>
<p>Janus frowned. "What- What are you doing with your mouth?"</p>
<p>After a moment, Virgil said, "That was a yawn. It means I need to go to sleep. Like I've been saying."</p>
<p>Janus hummed. "Let's go one more time," he said, "then you'll be free to go. Just for eight of your human hours, though, this training is still very important."</p>
<p>Virgil groaned, but got into position anyway. It was better to get this over with, he supposed. Janus went to stand on the other side of the thrown room, watching Virgil carefully. That didn't exactly help - staring at him like that just made Virgil uncomfortable, especially since he never seemed to blink. Still, Virgil held out a hand and summoned... something, whatever 'flowers' were deep within him. He closed his eyes, trying to clear his mind and concentrate solely on this, rather than just-</p>
<p>
  <em>Shouting. All the time. From everyone. Telling him to do better, to concentrate more, to do his work. He would do his work if he was physically able to, if he was allowed just half an hour to study, if home wasn't so loud. He'd thought about going to the library to study, but if he wasn't home by a certain time things would only be worse, and the library terrified him anyway, too many strangers watching him, judging him.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>He studied in his lunch breaks, but that never really worked out that well either, with the amount of assholes in the school. So instead he was stuck failing all his classes, critiqued by his teachers and them, even though no one was doing anything to help.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>He was exhausted. All the time. And hurting, more often than not. It wasn't good for him. But he tried to survive.</em>
</p>
<p>Virgil opened one eye and saw some flowers in front of him, a full garden almost. He let out a small smile. Janus hummed, stepping closer towards him.</p>
<p>"Not bad, Virgil," Janus said, picking up one flower, only for it to immediately turn to dust. Virgil lost his smile. "Just need to work on permanence, I suppose. We can work on that more later."</p>
<p>Virgil let out a sigh of relief. "Does that mean I can go?"</p>
<p>Janus nodded. "Of course. I expect you back in eight hours, though."</p>
<p>Virgil laughed. "Yeah, good luck with that." After a glare from Janus, Virgil corrected, "Okay, yeah, see you then."</p>
<p>Before Janus could say anything else or change his mind, Virgil spun on his heel and speed-walked out the throne room, heading back up into the forest and through the trees. He looked around as he walked, breathing in the fresh air. It was nice, being in the forest like this, a welcome change to his previous life.</p>
<p>
  <em>One time, he had made it out, to the forest at the back of his street. He had been young, and hadn't quite known what he was doing, or why he even thought it was a good idea. Maybe he wanted someone to find him, just as proof that they cared even a little bit. What he'd actually found was a terrifying forest, dark and dangerous, an uncomfortable floor to sleep on, bitter cold weather that was certainly less than ideal.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>But at least he was away, for a little bit. And it hadn't been so bad in the morning, at least, with the sun shining through the leaves, birdsong in the air. He stayed there for a few days, and nobody came. Which he supposed confirmed his suspicions.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>So he went back 'home'. He didn't think there was much else that he could do. Things only got worse, after that. They were angry at him for disappearing, even though before they had been angry at him for existing in the first place.</em>
</p>
<p>He arrived at Patton's cottage and stepped inside, to be immediately greeted by arms wrapping around his neck and a pressure pushing down on his body. He stiffened up, eyes widening to fear, before he relaxed, noticing that it was just Patton, hugging him. <em>Hugging</em> him. Patton was probably the first person to actually hug him, it was still a weird experience.</p>
<p>"You're back!" Patton said happily, drawing away from him. "How did training go?"</p>
<p>Virgil smiled at him, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's, uh, it's okay. Need a nap, I think."</p>
<p>"Oh! Of course." Patton let go of Virgil, allowing him to walk over to his room. "We can talk once you're all rested up. If you need anything let me know."</p>
<p>Virgil nodded. "Of course. Thanks, Pat." Virgil stepped into his room and immediately collapsed onto his bed, falling asleep in a matter of seconds.</p>
<p>
  <em>Everything was loud, so loud, and Virgil had made the mistake of investigating. He'd never done that before - usually when this happened, he'd stay in his room, holding back tears, but he thought that maybe he could help for once. Ha, as if he could ever do that.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Maybe things had gotten out of hand, or maybe it had been deliberate. He couldn't remember. He wasn't even sure if he knew in that moment. All he remembered was the thumping pain in his check, the blood rolling down his chin, his heavy breathing as he laid in his bed for hours after, trying to calm down.</em>
</p>
<p><em>A door opening, and more shouting. </em>Him<em> coming back for a second hit.</em></p>
<p>Virgil awoke in cold sweat, gasping for air. He sat up in his bed and turned on his lamp, hand instinctively reaching up for his cheek. It was fine, he was fine. He was out of there now, wasn't he? He- He wasn't trapped anymore.</p>
<p>How long had he been sleeping? It couldn't have been for that long, surely, but he wasn't really tired anymore...</p>
<p>Well, he was, of course, Virgil wanted nothing more than to succumb to the darkness and sleep for the rest of eternity, and his bones still ached and his head hurt like hell, but his eyes were wide open and he was filled with restless energy, heart pumping adrenaline around his body. He jumped out of bed and made his way to the door, creeping through and out the cottage before Patton could see him. Patton was in the kitchen, Virgil was fairly certain, but he hadn't heard Virgil's quiet footsteps. Sneaking out of the house was an art that Virgil was well practiced at, at least.</p>
<p>Where to go? He didn't want to head back to the throne room, not just yet. Even if it had already been eight hours - in all fairness, Janus didn't exactly have a concept of time, so he probably wouldn't even notice or care. No, somewhere else...</p>
<p>He found himself at the lake, without even realising it. He sat down by the shore, on the sand, looking out across the water as he tried to push all his thoughts down. Everything he didn't want to think about. Watching the waves was somewhat calming, at least.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. but look across the lake, shimmering like smoke</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Virgil glanced up over the waters, frowning as he noticed some ice spreading towards the shore. Logan was dancing over the surface, creating ice as he spun and stepped on the water, smoke rising up into the air around him. A small smile growing over his face, Virgil stood up, slowly stepping out onto the lake. It was solid enough that he could walk on it normally, and didn't even seem that slippery - interesting. He made his way towards the centre of the lake, closer to Logan.</p>
<p>"How are you doing that?" Virgil asked, causing Logan to jump and fall down to the surface, the ice collapsing below him. Virgil's eyes widened as he was dragged down into the water, clothes weighing him down and heart pounding in his chest. <em>Shit</em>. </p>
<p>Thankfully, Logan seemed to recognise his mistake fairly quickly, and dived down into the water to grab Virgil, dragging him back to the shore. Virgil coughed, getting the water out his lungs and replacing it with air. Logan stared at him, curiosity in his eyes.</p>
<p>"Can you not swim?" Logan wondered.</p>
<p>Virgil glared at him, although imagined he didn't look all that intimidating whilst soaking wet and red in the face. "I <em>can</em> swim. Just not really in these clothes. Or, y'know, without warning." </p>
<p>"My apologises," Logan said, "I didn't realise you were there."</p>
<p>"No, no, don't worry, that was all on me," Virgil said. "I'm the one who scared you."</p>
<p>"You don't have to blame yourself, y'know," Logan said. "That truly was my mistakes. I really should have been more careful."</p>
<p>"But-"</p>
<p>"Virgil, if something bad happens to <em>you</em>, it's rarely your fault."</p>
<p>Virgil opened his mouth to argue, but nothing came out. He'd... actually never considered that before.</p>
<p>"What are you doing out here?" Logan asked. "I thought you were with Prince Janus."</p>
<p>Virgil's eyes darted down to the ground. He began to shovel sand through his fingers. "We took a break. And I needed to be alone, I think."</p>
<p>Logan tilted his head. "So... you decided to talk to me?"</p>
<p>"I didn't know you would be here," Virgil said. "I, uh, just thought your dancing was pretty, or whatever." </p>
<p>Logan hummed, smiling a little. "Yeah?"</p>
<p>"Yeah." Virgil hunched his shoulders. "How were you doing it?"</p>
<p>"I was just... using my powers." Virgil glanced back up at Logan, whose gaze had drifted back to the lake. "It's good practise. And, uh, 'fun', I guess. Calming? You use that word a lot, right?"</p>
<p>Virgil snorted. "Yeah, I get that. That's kinda why I came to the lake. It's calming here." </p>
<p>Logan stood up and held out a hand. "C'mon, I'll take you out there."</p>
<p>Virgil frowned, examining Logan's hand. "Is it safe?"</p>
<p>"Would I ever let anything bad happen to you, Virgil?"</p>
<p>Virgil considered his words for a while. He still didn't really <em>know</em> Logan, certainly not enough to trust him with anything. But then again, it wasn't as if Virgil had anything to lose. Aside from a good home with Patton, he supposed, but that was new, so...</p>
<p>Virgil took Logan's hand and allowed him to pull him up, then lead him over to the lake. As they stepped onto the surface, ice grew beneath them, coldness rising in the air. Virgil didn't care about the cold - it was okay with his hoodie, and being with Logan made him not care so much. Logan sped up a bit, beginning to twirl around, occasionally flying a few inches off the ground. Virgil giggled as he spun, as he glided across the surface. Soon enough, Logan let go, and Virgil allowed himself to just relax, to enjoy the moment.</p>
<p>Before long, they stopped dancing, Virgil growing tired again and Logan sensing his need for a break. They sat down on the ice, somehow not that cold, and looked up at the sky. The sun began to set behind them.</p>
<p>Logan looked over at the sun, a little confused. "The sun's setting."</p>
<p>"It sure is," Virgil said with a yawn. "And I believe <em>that</em> means it's time for me to sleep-"</p>
<p>"No, Virgil, it means you have a second shot," Logan corrected.</p>
<p>Virgil blinked. "I... Oh, right." He looked down at the ice, beginning to trace over a swirling pattern with his finger. "I'm, uh, I'm gonna be perfectly blunt with you, Logan, I don't think I can do this."</p>
<p>"Of course you can," Logan countered. "You're our Lord of Spring, this is your job."</p>
<p>"Yeah, but, like, I can hardly summon a flower, so..."</p>
<p>Logan looked at him for a moment, before shuffling closer. "Hold out your hand."</p>
<p>Virgil blinked. "What?"</p>
<p>"Hold out your hand," Logan repeated, louder.</p>
<p>Virgil did as instructed, shoving his palms towards Logan. Logan took his hands from underneath, resting them on top of his own palms, and closed his eyes. Virgil noticed frost growing over his hands, but tried his best not to panic - Logan probably knew what he was doing, and on the off chance that Virgil did get frostbite from this experience, he still didn't really have much to lose. A moment later, though, a flower began to grow in his palm. Icy blue petals, forming a sort of rose. He smiled, as Logan opened his eyes again.</p>
<p>"There," Logan said, "you've made a flower."</p>
<p>"No, that... that was you, wasn't it?"</p>
<p>"Nope." Logan grinned. "I just forced you to relax. Try not to think too much about using your powers. They'll just come naturally when you need them, or when you want them to."</p>
<p>Virgil looked back down the flower, slowly turning red as the frost melted away. He looked back up at the sunset, only to find it completely disappeared, and the moon beginning to rise over the lake.</p>
<p>"Should, uh, should we get the others?" Virgil asked.</p>
<p>"They'll be here soon enough," Logan said, although he didn't sound entirely certain. "For now, we should just get back to the shore."</p>
<p>He stood up, grabbing Virgil's hand again and beginning to drag him back to the shore. They didn't get very far before Virgil began to glow a light green.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. rises the moon</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Virgil breathed in and out as he floated off the ground, dragging Logan with him. Logan let go of his hand and pushed himself away, watching Virgil carefully.</p>
<p>"The others aren't here yet," Virgil said, looking back to the shore. Still no sign of either of them.</p>
<p>"We'll just have to do this without them," Logan decided. "Concentrate, Virgil. You can do this."</p>
<p>"I... I don't think I can?"</p>
<p>"You need to believe that you can, Virgil," Logan said. "You made the flower, remember? You can do this as well."</p>
<p>Virgil breathed in and out, looking over at the moon. He tried his best to believe in himself, to see himself as this <em>Lord of Spring</em> that everyone seemed to think he could be, but it was an awful lot harder than it looked. Virgil didn't believe in himself in his every day life, it wasn't so easy to believe he could be some sort of god. Because that wasn't him. All Virgil was was a screwup, and an idiot, and he shouldn't have even been there. He...</p>
<p>"Virgil," Logan said, softly, "relax. I believe in you, okay?"</p>
<p>Logan believed in him. So did Patton, Virgil hoped. Roman was harder to tell with, and Janus was... Virgil wasn't sure what to think about Janus, but... well, at least <em>two</em> people believed in him, that had to say something.</p>
<p>Virgil stiffened as he felt something course through his veins. It wasn't... painful, not really, but it didn't exactly feel <em>right</em>. He looked up, noticing Logan's blue glow feeding into him, mixing with his own green glow. He looked up at the moon again, a large glow in the sky, seeming so close that he could see every individual crater, with stars twinkling around it on a veil of black. And looking up higher into the sky he saw colours dancing around, smoke twisting and twirling around their bodies, ranging from red to blue, a full rainbow. The blues and greens were especially prevalent, leaking out of Logan's and Virgil's bodies to join the wonderful display.</p>
<p>Logan floated closer to him and took his hand, squeezing it tight. That, along with the beautiful view, did help to calm Virgil down a little, enough that he could begin to concentrate on doing this... whatever he was supposed to do. Changing the seasons, taking- taking power from Logan? Is <em>that</em> what this was?</p>
<p>The longer Logan held onto him, the more that feeling grew. A tingly feeling, kind of. Cold at first but growing warmer and warmer as it took root through Virgil's skin. It felt like he was being squeezed, almost, suffocated by the blue and green smoke still rising around him, but at the same time it was... freeing, in a way. All his worries disappeared. He didn't have to think about the danger he was in, the danger he used to be in, the danger he'd be in in the future. All he had to think about was the here and now, the stunning night sky, and the small smile on Logan's face as he realised it was <em>working</em>.</p>
<p>Flowers began to sprout all over Virgil's skin, spreading more warmth to his fingertips. Glancing over, he noticed a few flowers appear on Logan too, as well as ice beginning to spread over one of Virgil's arms. In that moment, the two were one, a state of transition Virgil supposed, between cold and hot, night and day.</p>
<p>Logan let go of Virgil's hand. The lights in the sky disappeared, and the two slowly floated back down to the lake. Virgil felt... at peace, almost. Free from everything bad in his life. And more powerful, stronger, filled with childlike wonder, the belief he could do anything he put his mind to. He'd never felt like that before. He felt... happy.</p>
<p>That happy feeling soon disappeared, though, when he realised the ice below him had melted and he had sunk a few metres under the water, his hoodie dragging him further and further down. Well, this was a nice way to go, he supposed. Slowly sinking after the best experience of his life. He'd finally learnt what happiness felt like and now he was going to die, go figure.</p>
<p>But once again Logan came to his rescue. Maybe it wasn't his time yet.</p>
<p>Virgil ended up back on the shore, surprisingly not that affected by that little... swim. He looked out of the lake, noticing the sun beginning to rise now. A new day. That was nice.</p>
<p>Virgil planted his hand on the ground besides him, sinking his fingers into the sand. Frowning, he pulled away as grass began to grow, a few daisies emerging as well. Besides him, Logan grinned.</p>
<p>"You did it!"</p>
<p>"I... did?"</p>
<p>"You did!" Logan stood up, dragging Virgil with him. "C'mon, we should go fix the forest."</p>
<p>"We should what?" Virgil said, following anyway deeper into the forest.</p>
<p>"The tree's been dying because, y'know, winter and all," Logan quickly explained, "but now you should be able to free it! And Janus will feel a lot better than, he hasn't been doing so well lately-"</p>
<p>Virgil didn't reply, instead allowing Logan to lead him back to the tree. As they went, flowers spouted in Virgil's path, and the trees around him seemed to burst to life, leaves all turning a luscious green and the few bits of remaining ice melting away. Eventually, they reached the big tree in the centre, with Janus standing outside, his arms folded.</p>
<p>"I told you to come back in eight hours," Janus said, sternly. "Where have you been?"</p>
<p>"Oh, y'know, took a nap, had a breakdown, ran away for a bit, kinda lost track of time-"</p>
<p>"The seasons have changed," Logan said, stepping forward.</p>
<p>Janus' eyes widened. He looked at Virgil, then at Logan, then back at Virgil, before smiling a little and stepping to the side. Virgil took in a deep breath and stepped towards the tree, placing a hand on the bark and closing his eyes.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. oh, close your weary eyes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Virgil sat at the base of the tree, breathing in and out. That had taken<em> a lot</em> out of him, and he didn't even have that much in him in the first place. The tree was fully restored now, at least, not a single trail of ice left, and Janus looked to be a lot healthier, his scar fading just a little. Virgil, however, felt like he could crash at any moment. Maybe that was for the best - he still hadn't received quite enough sleep, and he wasn't exactly built for this sort of thing either. He was a <em>human</em>, he was pretty sure, and...</p>
<p>Janus came and sat at his side, nudging his shoulder. "You did good."</p>
<p>Virgil looked up, frowning. "Yeah?"</p>
<p>"Yeah." Janus smiled. "I mean, honestly I didn't really believe you'd be able to do it so soon, training didn't exactly go well."</p>
<p>Oh. Well that was nice. Good to know that Janus had <em>so much </em>faith in him.</p>
<p>"But regardless of what I think, you did do a good job," Janus continued. "I suppose Logan helped you sort things out?"</p>
<p>Virgil nodded, slowly. "Yeah. He, uh, it just kinda happened, I guess. Logan was... encouraging."</p>
<p>"Encouraging," Janus repeated, humming. "Huh. Is... encouragement good for humans?"</p>
<p>"I guess?" Virgil shrugged. "I don't really know what's good for humans. I never exactly did a <em>brilliant</em> job of being human."</p>
<p>Janus raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"</p>
<p>Virgil was silent for a while. "Don't worry about it. It's in the past."</p>
<p>"Was your-" </p>
<p>"I don't want to talk about it."</p>
<p>Silence for a while longer. Virgil bunched up his legs, resting his head in his knees and closing his eyes. Maybe a little nap wouldn't hurt. Janus was still besides him but not speaking, barely even moving. Virgil could hear the distant chirps of birds in the trees, a pleasant melody of sorts, almost like a lullaby. He couldn't remember a time where someone sang a lullaby to him. Sleep sounded good, though. He wasn't sure if he had the energy to walk all the way back to Patton's cottage, or even the motivation. Maybe...</p>
<p>"Why did you come here?" Janus asked besides him.</p>
<p>Virgil groaned, lifting his head. "I said I didn't want to talk about it."</p>
<p>"You said you didn't want to talk about being human," Janus said, with a frown.</p>
<p>"No, I..." Virgil sighed. "When I said that, what I really meant it that I didn't want to talk about my past. There's nothing <em>good</em> there to talk about, and I... There's nothing to say, okay?"</p>
<p>Janus blinked. "It sounds to me like there is."</p>
<p>"I ran away from home, okay?" Virgil snapped. "Everything there was <em>bad</em> and I'd had enough so I left and I ended up here. Happy?"</p>
<p>"You ran away?" Janus repeated, raising an eyebrow.</p>
<p>"Yup," Virgil said through gritted teeth.</p>
<p>"Oh." Janus looked as though he wanted to say more, ask more, but Virgil just stood up, feeling a little dizzy for just a second. "Where are you going?"</p>
<p>"Back to Patton's," Virgil said. "Need a nap."</p>
<p>"But-"</p>
<p>"I need a <em>nap</em>," Virgil repeated, harsher. "I'll be back soon for whatever you need me for. Right now, I need to sleep."</p>
<p>"Oh. O-Okay."</p>
<p>Virgil walked away, back towards the cottage, back towards... home. He supposed it was home, now. He wasn't planning on leaving any time soon, at least. The journey didn't seem to last long, as Virgil was lost in thought, but once he arrived Patton immediately jumped onto him, clinging onto his shoulders. Virgil stiffened at first, but soon sank into the hug, slowly wrapping his arms around Patton's waist.</p>
<p>"You did it!" Patton exclaimed. For a moment, Virgil was confused, half falling asleep in Patton's arms, before Patton continued, "It's Spring! You figured it out!"</p>
<p>Virgil smiled a little and nodded, before the two made their way over to the couch and sat down, Virgil leaning his head on Patton's shoulder. Patton continued to speak, sounding genuinely excited and <em>impressed</em>, but Virgil tuned it all out as he passed on, drifting away into the darkness.</p>
<p>~*~</p>
<p>Virgil awoke again in Patton's arms, and for a moment he panicked, wondering where he was, why he wasn't in bed, why the man next to him was smiling so wildly, before he woke up properly and remembered the events of before his nap. He was fine, Patton was here and Patton was <em>good</em>, things were going brilliantly.</p>
<p>"You're awake!" Patton said, excitedly. "Can we talk now?"</p>
<p>Virgil slowly nodded. "Yeah, sure." He yawned, but tried to stay awake nonetheless.</p>
<p>"How did you do it?" Patton asked. "I know you've been struggling getting a grip on it all, but-" </p>
<p>"Logan helped," Virgil said. "He, uh, helped me relax, I think? I don't know. Gave me some good advice."</p>
<p>Patton giggled. "Yeah, that figures. He was pretty close to the old Lord of Spring..."</p>
<p>Virgil frowned. "Yeah?"</p>
<p>Apparently realising his mistake, Patton froze. "Uh, I-I mean-"</p>
<p>"Who was the old Lord of Spring?" Virgil asked, curious. That was one thing that still hadn't been answered, something that had been bothering Virgil since he first heard about it. </p>
<p>"I, uh, I don't really know if I-"</p>
<p>"Please," Virgil begged, "just tell me. I won't ask about it again."</p>
<p>Patton was silent for a moment, staring at the coffee table, before he sighed. "Okay, alright. His- His name was Remus," he began. "He and Logan were very close, and Logan was... well, he didn't take it very well when Remus had to leave. He still... He still thinks that Remus is out there, waiting to come back. Whether he actually wants that, I have no idea." </p>
<p>"Oh." Virgil hummed. "Why did he have to leave?"</p>
<p>"He... made some mistakes," Patton said. "And he was dangerous. He- I don't know, I wasn't there when it all went down, but Janus sent him away, didn't want any more trouble."</p>
<p>"Is he still out there?" Virgil wondered.</p>
<p>Patton shrugged. "I'd assume so. We haven't seen him since he left, but he sends people after us sometimes. So he must be out there, waiting for his revenge."</p>
<p>Huh. That was... a little concerning, to say the least. Virgil tried his best not to think about it.</p>
<p>"But let's not worry about that now!" Patton decided. "You-" He booped Virgil's nose. "-need to go back to sleep. You'll have a long day ahead of you fixing the forest when Janus is ready."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. i promise you that shook the autumn comes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Virgil wasn't sure how long it had been since the moon ceremony. He'd been working hard with Janus to fully restore the forest, and to keep everything running smoothly. He'd been trying to take regular breaks, still sleeping every now and then at Patton's place - his place now as well, he supposed, since Patton had just about adopted him at this point - but it was hard with Janus needing him all the time, with Janus <em>depending</em> on him.</p>
<p>He was tired, so tired, all the time. He'd always been tired, even back in the human world where he didn't have many responsibilities, or no responsibilities that he cared about at least, but now he was even more so, with the weight of the world on his shoulders. He wondered how Logan had done this for so long, had controlled the forest without collapsing. Perhaps he had and no one had noticed. Virgil hoped that he hadn't.</p>
<p>After the hundredth-or-something session with Janus, Virgil found himself wandering the forest, taking a moment for himself. He supposed he could have just gone straight back to the cottage, but going there would mean talking to Patton, and whilst he <em>did</em> love Patton, more than any other 'parental figure' he'd had in his life, sometimes it was all a little too much, and he needed a while alone to just... clear his head. Remind himself that things <em>were</em> better in the forest, away from the human world. Things were better here. </p>
<p>What he didn't need to do was bump into Roman, painting again on the forest floor, but of course that is what he did.</p>
<p>Roman looked up at him, frowning. Even after being in the forest for so long, Virgil still didn't know what to make of Roman. He can't have been that bad of a guy, could he? He hadn't tried to hurt Virgil, at least, like many other people had tried to do. It was very rare that Virgil ever even saw Roman, outside of formal gatherings, meetings hosted by Janus. Still, figuring that maybe Virgil <em>should</em> get to know Roman a little more, he sat down, watching Roman's paint brush glide across the paper, creating a flower of sorts.</p>
<p>"It's beautiful," Virgil complimented. "The painting, I mean." </p>
<p>Roman just grunted in response. Fair enough. Virgil didn't really want to talk to himself either. Still, he... had to try.</p>
<p>"Are you doing okay?"</p>
<p>"I'm fine," Roman grumbled, turning his body away from Virgil. Virgil found that a little hard to believe, but he didn't want to dig. Didn't want to give Roman even more of a reason to hate him. Even though Virgil was pretty sure he'd never given him a reason in the first place. "Why are you here?" Roman eventually asked.</p>
<p>Virgil shrugged. "I was just taking a walk."</p>
<p>"Don't you have work to be doing?"</p>
<p>Virgil blinked. "I... Not right now, I don't think?" He glanced around the forest. "Why, did Janus call me again?"</p>
<p>"I mean, shouldn't you be working on <em>getting this over with</em>?" Roman snapped, turning his head to face Virgil. Fire danced in his eyes, and Virgil tried his best not to visibly wince. "I've been waiting <em>so long</em> for it to be summer, and now <em>you</em> have the power to <em>make</em> it summer, how hard is it?" </p>
<p>Virgil took a while to response, his body frozen in place. Roman was angry at him, because Virgil... wasn't trying hard enough? Yeah, that sounded about right. That's what pretty much everyone else thought of him. Everyone back at school, back... back <em>there</em>. But at least Roman wasn't trying to hurt him, not yet. Eventually, he breathed in, and said quietly, "I'm sorry. I'm... trying."</p>
<p>"<em>Try harder</em>."</p>
<p>"I can't," Virgil told him. "I don't know how to make this all go faster. I want it to as well, I'm not... I wasn't ready for any of this, and I want it to be over just as much as you. But Janus needs me, and it's not as if I can control the moon."</p>
<p>Roman had turned away again, bringing his legs up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. "This would be so much easier if Remus was still here," he mumbled, barely above a whisper. Almost as if he didn't want Virgil to hear. </p>
<p>He did, though, and... it only made him want to hear more. Find out what happened to Remus, why he had to leave, what he did. It... really wasn't any of Virgil's business, he supposed, but that didn't make him any less curious. And maybe knowing what happened would mean that Virgil would be able to help Roman, to make him feel better, to... gain his trust. He wanted Roman to trust him. He wanted Roman to... at the very least, not hate him.</p>
<p>"Is... Is it too invasive if I ask about Remus?" Virgil asked, quickly. </p>
<p>There was a long pause after, in which Virgil thought that Roman probably didn't understand his rushed tone, before Roman simply said, "Yes." </p>
<p>Virgil nodded and backed down, shuffling a little further away from Roman and staring out into the forest, trying to give Roman space. Every now and then he'd glance back, and notice that Roman had started... crying? Perhaps Virgil should have just left him alone, return to Janus and Patton and Logan where he was safe. He was just about to stand up and walk away, when Roman spoke up again.</p>
<p>"Patton was supposed to take care of him," he said, turning his body a little more towards Virgil but still staring down at the ground, his tears drying up on his face but no more falling out. "He wasn't well. He had changed, and I wanted to help him, but I couldn't. So I told Patton to. I told him to speak to him, and..." He trailed off.</p>
<p>"And what?"</p>
<p>Roman breathed in. "He never did. I told Remus over and over again that he would get help, that eventually Patton would come, he'd be there soon, but he never was. So Remus hung out with Logan more, because Logan would listen, but then he stopped eventually too. Until it was just me." </p>
<p>"And what happened then?" Virgil looked at Roman with concern in his eyes, as well as an underlying curiosity.</p>
<p>"It got out of hand. He lashed out, and then Janus sent him away. He's still out there somewhere, but he isn't the same as he was before." Roman looked up at him now, looking almost guilty, like he blamed himself. From the story, it seemed like Roman held the least blame of all, though. "I see him sometimes, in the forest. He plays tricks on us, or... tries to hurt us. At first I tried to talk to him, but he wouldn't listen. He still won't listen. He won't come back. I haven't... I haven't tried again in a long, long time."</p>
<p>Virgil hummed. "How about we try now?"</p>
<p>Roman blinked. "What?"</p>
<p>"We could go look for him," Virgil suggested, without even thinking. What was he thinking, suggesting that? "I'm here now, maybe I could talk to him as well."</p>
<p>Roman stared at him for a while, then huffed. "That's a dumb idea."</p>
<p>"I know," Virgil admitted, "but it's worth a shot."</p>
<p>Roman stared again, the tips of his mouth lifting up just a little, and a hopeful look beginning to fill his eyes.</p>
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